On July 14, 2005, Italian Catholic Bishop Luigi Locati, who had served as a missionary in Kenya for over 40 years, was gunned down at the age of 77.
At around 7.30 p.m., Bishop Locati was shot twice in the head and neck while walking towards his residence at the Isiolo Catholic Diocese, accompanied by a bodyguard.
He was later rushed to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. Reports indicated that the bishop had been on his way to supper when he was attacked.
Bishop Locati had arrived in Kenya in 1962 as a missionary priest and went on to serve in various parts of the country before being appointed Apostolic Vicar of Isiolo in 1995.
Italian Bishop Luigi Locati Gunned Down
By 2005, he had already announced his impending retirement, but had not formally retired at the time of his death. He was still serving as the Apostolic Vicar of Isiolo when he was killed.
Initially, some speculations suggested that his murder might have been connected to ongoing ethnic violence between the Borana and Gabra communities, which had left at least 80 people dead in Turbi, Marsabit.
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However, police spokesman Jaspher Ombati clarified that investigators found no link between the two incidents.
“We are treating this as a separate incident, and we don’t have any evidence to link this with the Marsabit killings,” the Police Spokesperson stated.
Bishop Locati’s funeral was held on July 20, 2005, at St. Eusebius Cathedral in Isiolo, presided over by Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Alain Lebeaupin.
Court Jails Perpetrators of the Priest’s Murder
Thousands, including then-President Mwai Kibaki and representatives from various faiths, attended the service. President Kibaki vowed that the authorities would “get to the bottom of such murders.”
It later emerged that the motive for the killing was a power struggle over control of church funds in the Isiolo Diocese, particularly after Locati announced his impending retirement and restricted certain priests from handling donor money.
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In August 2005, six suspects were arrested, including Father Guyo Waqo Malley, who was identified as the mastermind.
Father Guyo Waqo Malley, who was a Catholic priest serving in Isiolo, claimed that the frustration pushed him into mental depression.
Court documents revealed that Malley, along with Mohammed Molu Bagajo, Aden Ibrahim Mohamed, Mahati Ali Halake, and Diqa Wario Mohammed, plotted and carried out the murder. A sixth suspect, Roba Balla Bariche, was acquitted.
After an eight-year trial, in November 2014, Malley and four co-accused were convicted and sentenced to death.
The sentence was later changed to life imprisonment, and in 2021, it was reduced to 27 years, including the 15 years Malley had already served.
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